A large loan taken by your spouse does not automatically become your debt if you did not sign or later accept it
Under Chinese law, a secret loan substantially beyond ordinary household needs is not automatically yours if you neither signed nor accepted it afterward. The creditor must prove it supported your joint life or business. However, money that actually bought a jointly occupied or jointly owned home often allows the creditor to prove that connection.
What it takes
Free. Do not sign your spouse's loan or guarantee as a co-borrower or guarantor. Avoid messages such as “we will repay this,” which may count as later acknowledgment. Resisting pressure to respond can be difficult.
What you may gain
Joint marital debts include debts signed by both spouses, later ratified by the other spouse, or incurred by one spouse in their own name during marriage for ordinary household needs. Debts in one spouse's name that substantially exceed those needs are not joint debts unless the creditor proves they funded joint life or joint production/business, or reflected both spouses' agreement. Home-purchase debt exceeds ordinary daily needs, so the creditor bears the burden of proof. If it actually became a home the couple jointly owns or occupies, however, joint use may be established. That makes documenting parental funding particularly useful. These rules apply throughout China from 2021.
Context & considerations
If your spouse's parents suddenly produce a loan agreement signed only by your spouse during divorce, examine two questions. First, did a loan actually occur? If you plausibly deny any delivery of money, the court considers amount, delivery method, financial capacity, normal transaction practices, corresponding changes in assets and witness accounts. A transfer record alone still leaves the alleged lender to prove a loan existed. Second, if it was a loan, was it a joint debt? See Chapter 8, entry 18 for general loan-note and guarantee rules.
Research & references
National People's Congress of China (2020). Civil Code, Article 1064. https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/fl/202006/t20200602_463888.shtml; Supreme People's Court of China (second revision in 2020). Provisions on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Private Lending Cases, Articles 15 and 16. http://gongbao.court.gov.cn/Details/94b6623974526df7d2430a3c73f050.html (Supreme People's Court Gazette).